by Hans-Hubert
When the family of Andreas and Karoline Kniely from farm Pertlstein No. 31, together with family of Johann and Josefa Kornhäusel – who had just bought the neighbouring farm No. 30 – commissioned master carpenter Josef Pammer to build the seating for the newly built Pertlstein village chapel, the requirements were huge and the space available was small. A relatively large space had to be left free in the altar area in order to have enough room for the church services and the Easter meat consecrations. This left little room for seating. The seating in the chapel at Bertholdstein Castle, which had only recently been completed by this same master carpenter, served as a model. For decades, every visitor to the chapel was able to experience the result. Just for the torture of sitting through a church service in these pews alone, all past and future sins would have been forgiven according to the Pope’s canon – without any confession or prayer. Finally in 1999, some of the pews were removed to provide more of legroom.
For the construction of this chapel, a parcel of land – located directly on the road through the village – was earmarked from the property of each of the neighbouring founding families. The land register shows plot No. 127/1 (Kornhäusel) and plot No. 127/2 (Kniely). When Johann Kornhäusel died in 1924, his widow sold the farm to Aloisia and Johann Wagner. When Aloisia Wagner died in 1941, the widower married again in 1943, this time to Anna Knotz, who became half owner as Anna Wagner. 1955 transfer to Karoline Knotz, 1989 to Karoline Hirschenbrunner, 2021 to Karina and Tamara Holzer.
The Kniely family resided and still resides at the manor house at number 31. In the chronicle ‘From Bertholdstein to Pertlstein’ (author Rudolf Grasmug), Otto Pammer from Pertlstein reports on a Kapellen-Kniely dynasty.
Before the First World War, the eldest brother of the master carpenter who built the chapel was an imperial and royal superintendent in Trieste during the Habsburg monarchy. There he became engaged to Maria Knilly, the donor of the statue of the Virgin Mary on the altar of the chapel – probably a member of the Kapellen-Kniely dynasty. At this time she worked as a cook in the same harbour town. When she died suddenly, the bridegroom almost despaired, resigned from the civil service in 1914 and enjoyed a – albeit very modest – pension for a full 45 years.
© Hans-Hubert 2024-05-03